His Life
by Everythingisawesome001
Summary: SasuSaku and Sarada One-shot Collection. He had done so much in the past. So many things that he wanted to forget. But now, here they were, welcoming him with open arms. He was going to try to make them stay and he never wanted to let them go. Some called him selfish. But that was just his life.
1. His Smile

Not a lot of people knew this, but the male members of the Uchiha clan _were_ capable of smiling. However, Uchiha Sakura had yet to be made aware of this fact.

People told her that Fugaku-sama could never once be near Mikoto-san without hinting some sort of happiness in her presence. Whether it be through a small quirk of the lips or a glance in her direction. All while she wasn't looking of course, otherwise he wouldn't have heard the end of it, the way Sakura had heard.

They saw Fugaku-sama and Mikoto-san walking through the streets silently. He would hold her groceries and guide her through bustling crowds. Many saw him keep close without her awareness in the matter. They said that when she wasn't looking at him, he was looking at her with all the love in the world. He would show it too by paying for all the groceries and never letting another man too close. If any man did get too close, he would have them running with one flash of his Sharingan.

They told her that once, Mikoto-san was upset for some reason. So one night, he had abandoned all of his work at the Police station to go out to buy her flowers. But he had gotten his sons to present her with them. He watched from afar, of course, because he never gave up the opportunity to see the smile on her face, nor the smile on his kids' faces.

Some even claimed that he had smiled thinking no one could see him but someone always did.

She was also told that her late brother-in-law, Uchiha Itachi, would be smiling all the time. But it was never genuine. Never. Unless he was training with his little brother or spending the night with his mother. He wouldn't smile like that for his father or his _friends_ at school. But those two never failed to bring a smile on his face.

Uchiha Sasuke didn't smile. Not now and not for a long time before. Not since _that_ night. He would smirk and smile sarcastically, yes, but a genuine smile took years to adorn his face. No one expected him to of course, he had just lost his whole family. And the smile didn't come for anybody. Not even his wife.

She remembered when they first got courted. It wasn't even a considerable relationship. After all, he had almost killed her and then left her. When he came back they had barely dated for 2 years. If you could count occasionally sleeping together and nod in each other's direction dating.

People asked her why they wouldn't often be seen together in public and when they were, they definitely didn't look like they were in love. And that was only while he was around: rarely.

There was no one but her protecting herself from the bustling crowds or sleazy men. There was no one holding her groceries nor was there anyone paying for them. She paid from her humble earnings as a medical-nin. So when people asked, she just shrugged.

But people didn't see how eager Sasuke was to go out with her in the first place. How when he saw her at the door, he wouldn't even ask what it was for. He would walk out behind her and silently walk beside her. Even when he came back scratched, scarred and exhausted from some mission, he didn't miss the opportunity.

She did it for that.

She also noted semi-amused, how when he was around, no man dared approach her. And when he left, any man that had seen them together would stay as far away as possible. It was like the crowd just split apart to create a pathway for them.

He didn't pay for the groceries but she always found more money than she had known to earn in the savings. A lot more money.

Many also wondered why Sakura had endured Sasuke's terrible attitude towards her. They knew that Sasuke never bought her flowers nor did he seem to be around when she was sad, not that he brought her any comfort when he was. Some even had the bravery to ask. She would just shrug and give some vague answer about her devotion to him or what not.

There was tonnes of bickering. The bickering led to arguing which, in turn, led to him storming out of the house and her quietly sobbing on the floor.

They may have noticed him leave but they never noticed when late at night, he would walk back in and slip into bed with her silently like the master ninja he was. He would lie down on his side of the bed, not pulling her any closer but giving her the reassurance that he was there.

There were never any apologies or talking about "working it out". He wouldn't say anything to her and she didn't push it, because she knew that he would always stay loyal. No matter what the squabble be about. In the end some of the things they argued about discreetly ended up in her favour anyways.

She did it for that too.

In the beginning, they didn't talk. They had sex and he would leave for a mission or go to his side of their bed without a word.

But then it felt like _making love._ Like he was with her to let her stay. Or silently ask if he could. He would still have his side of the bed and she would have hers but the act itself was full of beautiful gentleness and devotion. He would never do something she didn't want nor would he leave without spending at least some time with her afterwards.

She could've sworn that when she was on the brink of sleep on those nights, he would shuffle closer and whisper a sweet _something_ that she had yet to figure out in her ear.

She definitely did it for that.

But she mostly did it for those smiles. He didn't even ask her to marry him, he handed her a ring with the Uchiha crest before leaving for another mission. But she could've sworn that his lips had quirked up when it had happened.

When he came back, he was wearing a similar ring on a chain around his neck as his left arm was tragically unavailable. But Sakura didn't care because she had her ring on her finger and she caught him glancing at it from time to time.

She could even think that his eyes softened by the smallest bit.

She could think it but she had yet to know for sure.

No.

She _longed_ to know for sure. It was her mission.

And today she was going to find out for sure.

She was going to make him smile.

\- - -0- - -

"Sasuke-kun," she began nervously looking up at her husband as she continued to tie bandages around his injured leg. He was looking forward, seemingly deep in thought, but he looked down when he heard the distress in his wife's voice. He had been gone for almost 2 months so he expected some worry but this sounded different.

She gave him a small nervous smile. The smile that was never returned, even in his eyes. Her smile faltered and she looked back down at his leg, thinking against what she was about to say, "So… you're leg looks good. It's uh… going to be just fine. An inch deeper, and it would've hit bone, but it'll close up-"

"Sakura," his deep baritone demanded, "What is it?"

Her mouth moved before he brain could. She was never able to deny him anything (which she hated), "I'm pregnant."

Silence. Sakura didn't look up knowing that he wasn't smiling, she didn't want to know what the expression was. She continued to gently wrap the bandages around his leg, quietly adding in some chakra to help it heal faster.

"But we…" he began.

"Not last time. Remember, you…" she began, her face turning red when she remembered how frisky they were the last time they had sex. They only had an hour before he had to go to a mission so they sped it up and skipped over some ahem… priorities.

"How long have you known," his guard suddenly going up. Sakura internally sighed. Even after so many years of being together, he didn't let his guard down around her at times.

"I found out a month after you left. I planned on writing you a letter but I-I wanted to tell you in person," there was still no response, "I'm almost two months in," she quietly added, hating herself for sounding so pathetic. Inner Sakura decided to make her appearance.

 _Oh No! You idiot. What if he didn't want a kid yet? He wouldn't ask me to abort, would he? Oh Kami-sama! I really want some peanut butter. Maybe some pickles too…_

The thought seemed disgusting considering how much she hated pickles but it seemed really appealing at the moment.

"What do you want?" her head snapped up. She looked at him confused.

 _As if it isn't obvious…_ Inner Sakura grumbled _._

"W-well I want to keep it. I know you have your missions but Ino-pig and Hinata-chan could help me out. I don't expect you to do _everything_ for me. I know you're busy b-but…" she didn't know how to finish her rambling. But it turns out that she didn't need to.

"You were going to keep it no matter what," he stated firmly, "I meant… you look like you haven't eaten in days. What do you want to eat?"

Sakura stared at him, in a daze. He still looked like he did a few minutes ago- staring ahead. Inner Sakura had seemed to shut her mouth.

"W-what?" she asked dumbly.

"I don't think that I need to repeat myself."

"R-right," she expected a bit more emotion but he was acting like she had just stated something about Naruto's love for ramen. When he didn't get an answer, he looked down at her again, snapping her out of her demeanor.

The look on her face showed that she was beyond shocked that he had nothing more to say on the matter, "S-s-so that's it?" she didn't get an answer so she quietly continued, "A-are you happy or sad or angry?"

"I may take the last month of the pregnancy off. I won't be leaving the child out of my sight then. Karin will take care of you until then," he continued to elaborate, not answering her question. He was acting like it didn't matter. Like she was just being another obstacle that he could easily take care of.

How on Earth could she fight with an unborn child inside of her? Was he not worried?

Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes. She was going to be especially emotional considering her hormones were going awry. She immediately wiped away her tears and stood up, intending to walk away. She didn't want to become a bawling mess of pink hair in front of her stoic man.

Only to be stopped and whirled around into a standing Sasuke's arms. With a gasp, he felt his good arm wrap around her silently before resting on her stomach.

"I'm happy," he murmured. And he continued to surprise Sakura joyously when she saw his lips quirk up into a smile. He unwrapped his arm and poked her on the forehead affectionately, "I'm really happy."

Sakura's rigid posture immediately relaxed. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck, pulling him down to her significantly shorter height and planting a chaste kiss on his lips.

She realized that she had seen that smile before. And it was always directed at her. Her subconscious had picked it up from the corner of her eye and was finally verifying it now. She knew how Mikoto-san must have felt when she had realized the same as her.

She was worth something in his eyes.

She was worth his smile.

"I actually am hungry," Sasuke quirked an eyebrow and waited for her to elaborate. She meekly looked down feeling her face flush embarrassed. She wouldn't request this on a normal occasion in fear of getting strange looks from her husband but she could get rid of the craving at all.

"I was hoping for… peanut butter. And maybe some… pickles. Some strawberry dango and vegetable dumplings sound absolutely amazing too, now that I think about it," Sakura muttered. Sasuke sighed and reached for his cloak from its spot behind the chair he was just sitting on.

Sakura watched him put it on before heading to the door. She figured he would've started some sort of argument on how she should be able to control her cravings because after all, she was a kinoichi. But he silently put on his sandals and stood at the door.

"Don't get used to it, Sakura. The stupid dessert shop owner hates me," she could hear some amusement in his voice, knowing he wasn't serious even if he was still facing the door.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun," Sakura stated gratefully. She didn't think she could go another hour without any of those foods.

"We'll talk more when I get back. I'm going to keep you both safe but I will not be letting your annoying-self get in harm's way again," and with that he left leaving Sakura feeling like she should be squealing in a pillow.

Mission accomplished.


	2. His Care

At eleven years old, Uchiha Sarada knew many things.

She knew that she loved being a ninja. That she was going to fight and save lives someday because that was her ninja way. She wasn't like Uzumaki Bolt, who wanted to have fun all the time. She wanted to keep Konoha safe and the citizens proud of her.

She was sure that she was going to be Hokage someday. The best Hokage. She was going to be the most powerful kinoichi ever. Be legendary like Tsunade-sama was.

She knew that she loved her mama and papa with all her heart. Her mama kissed her wounds and never let her feel alone in their small family. She came to all her school events and they always spent as much time as possible, even with their busy schedules.

They celebrated every holiday, even the ones many would say were not worth celebrating, just for the excuse to spend time with each other. Her mama sacrificed so much to keep her happy and she hoped she could return the favour someday.

Her papa was another story. Her papa missed so much of her life. Almost a full decade after she was born. He had spent a year at home before leaving, never to be heard from again… until now. When he returned, then for every 3 months he was here, he was gone for 9 months. And those 90 days were all spread apart. He'd come home while she was at school and leave before she got back. Having only a note to let her know that he had been there recently.

He didn't give her gifts from his travels or talk to her about much of anything to be honest. She hardly ever had a conversation with him the lasted more than 20 minutes. He never told her about him growing up and he never told her anything personal. He yearned to speak to him more but his last visit seemed so long ago.

She didn't even think that he remembered her birthday after so long.

It scared her that at times that she forgot what he even looked like. At those times, she would run home and look at the old picture of him that they had so that she could revive her memory.

She still loved her papa though, because there were those rare days that he would spend more than a few days at home and train with her for an hour or so. They wouldn't speak unless he had to point something out about her technique. But she felt like they had been doing the training for years.

She didn't really care about the gifts. She knew he loved her even when he never said it. She also felt that actions speak louder than words.

But lately, she's been feeling like there's little of both. She knew her father was busy trying to redeem himself so that he could feel he had made up for his past mistakes but even when he was at home, she barely saw him. He was always in his office, where she was forbidden from entering.

She wrote long paragraphs to him when he was away for a while but she usually only got 2 sentence notes back. That couldn't even count as a letter.

She wanted her papa. She wanted him to stay for longer than the maximum 3 days and spend the time with her and learning about her. Being the determined girl she was.

She was positive that it would happen. Especially since they were so close to such a special day.

\- - -0- - -

" _Tadaima_ ," her father's deep baritone spoke. Sarada's head perked up and she abandoned her homework to go down to greet her papa. Her mama was greeting him at the door and doing her checkup, as all medical-ninjas felt the need to do.

"Papa!" she cried as she ran down the stairs. She jumped up into her papa's arms who had to lift her up with his one arm to cushion the impact of her running so that they both didn't fall over. She took in his forest-y scent and the warmth of his cloak knowing that it wouldn't be something that she could experience forever.

Sasuke was not used to this. But he forced himself to feel like it was second nature. He realized just how long it had been since he had hugged her.

In fact, if he could recall, he could count the number of times he had done so on one hand. The first of those times being when she was a toddler. Suffice to say that he was going to allow it despite how childish it may have seemed for someone of her age.

"Sakura-chan. Papa's had a long mission and you are getting to old to support with one arm. Come down now," Sakura chided but she had mirth playing in her eyes at her daughter's antics. Sasuke immediately bend down and allowed her to jump from his arm with the agility of a ninja.

Her smile dimmed as she was placed down.

"Papa, how long will you be staying?" she asked, trying to look cute enough to make him perhaps stretch his time. It had never worked before but she continued to try.

"Just today," he replied stoically as he removed his cloak and shoes before venturing further into the house.

Sarada's smile dimmed a bit more at how placid he was with her.

"Perhaps you could stay longer this time? Next week the school is having a tournament and I'll be in it. You can help me train and that's not all but-"

"Only today, Sarada. That's all I have," he stated again, this time more firmly. Sarada was hoping that he could've remembered but it was obvious that he didn't.

The smile dimmed a bit more as she took in that it would be like any other day.

Sakura must've noticed this because she spoke up, "Sasuke-kun, there's something very special next week-" she began but Sarada interrupted.

"My birthday!" Sarada chirped, "I was thinking we could go out, just the three of us!"

Sasuke stared at his child, eyes widening as he realized he had actually forgotten. He had been away for so many of the birthdays that he realized that he had forgotten it last year as well. He looked into the little girl's eyes- looking up at him filled with love and hope.

"I can't. I've already agreed and it's a major mission. If I back out now, I'll have a six month penalty."

Sarada's smile was completely wiped off her face.

"Papa, m-maybe it's a good thing. You can take a break," Sarada insisted. Sasuke's eyes hardened, 'After all we barely spend time together anymore. Maybe this way we can."

"I can't spend that long without a mission. You shouldn't be trying to hold me back Sarada," Sasuke scowled.

Sakura was could feel her throat block up. Sarada looked like she was experiencing the same thing. Her Sharingan threatened to make an appearance.

"You can train with me and mama. You can spend some time with Naruto-sama as well as with us. Maybe we can even go on a vacation," she paused, "Are you saying that we're holding you back?"

Sasuke stared at her in shock, realizing how he sounded a moment ago. In the act he took a second too long to answer, "Fine you can go on your mission papa, if we really don't matter. I'm too old for birthdays anyways."

"Sarada," but she turned around and walked back up the stairs to her room. Sasuke turned to look at Sakura who was walking back into the kitchen. By the hunch in her shoulders, it was obvious that she was upset as well.

"If I had known then I wouldn't have accepted in the first place."

Sakura paused and turned, a sad smile playing on her lips.

"I understand that Sasuke-kun. You haven't been home for a while, you couldn't have remembered her birthday," she said it so casually that he couldn't help but wince, "But it hurt… what you said… about us holding you back. I know that we aren't as… _capable_ of all the missions you do, but I always felt like we were helping you out by giving you something to come back to, is all."

With those soft words, she continued to walk back to the kitchen. Sasuke stood in the hall realizing just what his words had caused. He wanted to go up and _grovel_ for her forgiveness like a penitent. Because when it came to Sarada (or Sakura), to hell with pride.

He knew that it would be in vain. She was the child of the two most stubborn people in Konohagakure.

But it didn't mean that he wouldn't try. He ran up the steps and stood outside the red door to her room. He gently knocked on the door, "Sarada let me in."

"No. I'm busy," she said.

He silently opened the door to find her tucked into a ball under her covers. Her small body creating a small bump on the otherwise pristine bed. Her glasses were sitting on the nightstand and he heard soft sniffles from underneath the comforter.

"Go away," she groaned. Sasuke only moved further into the room. When he approached the bed, he moved the covers back and pulled Sarada up into a sitting position. He immediately took her glasses and perched them on her nose when he noticed that her eyes were becoming hazy thanks to the impact of the Sharingan. Only he knew how much pain that cursed kekkei genkai had brought his daughter.

Sasuke once made a pact that he would kill anyone that dared hurt his family. Right now he never felt more like doing it. The whites of her eyes were as red as her Sharingan. The shame the man felt was incomparable. He sat on the bed and pulled the small sniffling girl into his lap.

Before he could even get a word out, Sarada began to speak.

"You never want to spend time with me anymore! You trained with Boruto instead of me for Chūnin. You go on missions for months at a time. When you are here, you never wanna talk to me and you just spend time in your dumb office instead. Papa, I bet you don't even know what I want to be when I grow up. You're always saying how useless Hokage-sama is," Sasuke didn't know the relevance but when she spoke up again, he realized just how ignorant he was.

"Well, I want to be Hokage. You don't even come home long enough to train with me anymore. I miss you Papa but I feel like you don't miss me," she sobbed, the tears rushing down her face as she tried just as hard to wipe them away from under her glasses.

"I want you to care about me Papa," she said finally. Sasuke pulled her closer and didn't say a word. He felt like he was getting berate with 500 kunai. In fact he rather that than watch himself hurting his daughter.

"I know… that I come off as a bad father. But you don't know how much worse of one I would be if I chose not to do what I do," he began. Sarada's crying had turn into sniffles and dry-sobs.

"You're too young to know, but what I did in the past, haunts me _every, single day_. If I stayed then the guilt would continue to eat me alive. I would be a terrible a father. And I want you to have a good man as your father, Sarada."

"I won't make it back in time for your birthday and I couldn't apologize enough for that. I will make you happy though, when I get back. I have to go Sarada but I need you to know that I want to spend time with you. When I get back, my only mission will be to make you happy."

Sarada stayed silent but she allowed her papa to pull her closer. Her tears were no longer falling.

"Papa, I know you're a good man. And I forgive you, I can wait until you get back, just… don't take too long."

"I won't."

They sat there in silence until they both feel asleep. Sasuke lying on the bed with Sarada huddles into his chest, feeling understood and understanding for the first time in a while.

The next morning, her papa was gone before she woke up but she knew that this time, things would be different.

\- - -0- - -

Her birthday had come and gone. They didn't do anything for it, they spent the night eating _anpan_ and _red bean ice cream_ while reading some books and talking about her mama's time as a member of team 7.

Her 12th birthday was a simple, innocent affair. She spent most of the time thinking about her father and hoping that he was alright. She had sent him a regular letter a few days ending in _I miss you a lot papa_ and he had gotten one of her normal little notes back.

 _It sounds like you enjoyed yourself._ _I will be getting back in 3 days. Happy Birthday Sarada._

And on the back of the note she found: _I miss you too._

True to his word, he came back on the third night. The first thing he did was walk into the kitchen where he was sure that his family was waiting.

" _Tadaima_."

"Welcome home papa!" Sarada squealed as she continued to set the table. She handed the plates to her mama before running to her father who had crouched down as was prepared for impact this time. Her skinny arms went around his neck and his larger arms went around her waist pulling her close. He gently pressed a kiss on the top of her head. When he pulled back, he gave her an affectionate poke to the forehead making her giggle.

He reached into the messenger bag he was wearing and pulled out a whole bunch of brightly colored gift packages and a single red rose. He handed the rose to the blushing medical-nin before releasing his daughter from the hug to give her the gifts.

"Papa!" Sarada gasped happily. Her father's expression didn't change but she saw a rare tenderness in his raven eyes. Her mama was still fiddling with one of the petals of the rose and looking like she was a child getting their first kunai. He looked up into Sakura's eyes and saw her silently mouth a thank you. As though the rose had just given their entire marriage a meaning. Or as though the missing puzzle had been found.

Sarada spent the rest of the night opening her presents and talking to her father. They sat down on the living room floor with Sasuke and Sakura sitting side by side and the youngest Uchiha sitting her Papa's lap.

Sakura laughed or smiled at her reaction to every gift which happened to be everything she would actually want. After opening all the gifts she realized that the best gift wasn't the set of new knives or the new notebooks.

It was her father. Being home.

And for them. All being a family.


	3. His Regret: Part 1

Uchiha Sasuke walked through the streets of Konoha, trying to get his hair to cover his face as discreetly as possible. Although, it didn't really matter. His height had him towering over everyone and the fact that he wore that cape on the hot summer day, he couldn't help but stand out.

Sasuke tried to remember why he came out here again. Everyone was staring at him. The kids were veering away from his intimidating form and many of the elders couldn't help but be hesitant around him, considering his past.

"Sasuke-kun, do we need tomatoes?"

Oh yeah. That's why.

Standing at an intimidating 5'4 was Uchiha Sakura. His loving (and somewhat annoying) wife. They had paused at one of the stands, where Sakura was busy looking through the vegetables while Sasuke stood a distance behind her. It had been tradition. Whenever he saw her at the door, getting ready to go out, he didn't even ask where she was going and simply followed her out the door without any hesitance.

"Oh sorry. Bad question. We always need more tomatoes," she teased gently, turning back to the stall. The action cause her cotton candy hair to fly in the summer wind and catch the attention of many passing men. One quick flash of the Uchiha patriarch's Sharingan, however, had them looking in the other direction immediately.

Sasuke would never admit his motive but he made it a habit to go out into the town with her whenever he wasn't on a mission. There were always so many men visiting the village that doted on Sakura, so he made sure people knew to keep those men away. He smirked under his hair when he remembered that one prince that was visiting from the Land of Honey who had tried to hit on Sakura in front of Sasuke and had ended up going back with nightmares that would forever destroy his brain.

It was true that in his quest for finding himself, he didn't spend too much time at home. Even after Sarada was born, he didn't spend more than a couple days home each month. Of course the number of days that he did has been increasing since Sarada's birthday incident, but it wasn't nearly as much as he felt his family deserved.

Sasuke would admit there were some things that he would do over again, aside from all the mistakes he had made in the past. One would be his attempt to destroy the Leaf and in turn, almost killing Sakura. It was in a rage-induced haze but, nonetheless, he tried to kill her and left her without an apology more than once. He had tortured her, taunted her and mocked her.

To make matters worse, she welcomed him back with open arms. Naruto and Kakashi did as well. They never once made him feel like what he did had severed their bond beyond repair. It was worse than their anger because it only continued to show that he could never be as good as they were.

Another time he regretted would be his proposal to her. He literally tossed the ring at her before heading out to the mission. She didn't even say yes. But the relief he felt when he came back to see the ring on her finger, was beyond words. The little, insignificant sight made him the happiest person in the world. Not that he would admit.

Don't even get him started when Sarada was born. He was supposed to spoil his new child with toys and clothes and _love_. But all he did was pass on his cursed lineage and leave for nearly a decade. Naruto told him that Sarada would cry every night when her Sharingan activated because of the pain it brought. Even now, without her glasses, she was next to blind. He couldn't even hug his daughter without feeling that guilt. He had been the one that left her with this torture but she never once blamed him for it.

No one ever did. No matter how badly he wanted them to never show their love to him.

Speaking about love. What he regrets most is not being capable of showing them how thankful he is to have them in his dreary light. They were the only ones that have come close to cracking the wall around his heart. Over the years, they had managed to break a hole big enough for them to crawl through even. But he didn't thank them for it, he couldn't.

He tried, like on Sarada's birthday, he brought Sarada those gifts and gave Sakura that rose. She insisted that it was more than enough but he couldn't help but notice how Shikamaru had brought Temari a whole bouquet of roses, just for falling asleep while she was talking to him.

Sakura didn't give it a second glance though, unlike the Sharingan user. He just couldn't stand how Shikamaru gave Temari so much for such a small accident while he had tortured his wife and daughter so much and tried to make up for it with some gifts he had bought last minute and a single rose.

"Sasuke-kun," a voice gently interrupted. He looked up from his glaring at the ground and realized that his Sharingan was on full display. The Uchiha matriarch was looking at him carefully, "Everything okay?"

Looking at her for a few seconds, the thoughts in his mind hovering around, he gave a sharp nod. Sakura unsurely nodded back and turned around.

"Sarada had a short day at school today. I figured we could go pick her up. Hinata-chan and Naruto said they were going to take Bolt-kun and Hima-chan out for ramen and I figured we could join them."

She paused her speaking when she saw the troubled expression on his face. She looked down shyly, "You know. That is if you want to. I could cook tonight if you aren't- eep!" she squealed as she felt a hand on her lower back.

"I'm overdue for a family dinner anyways," he murmured quietly.

"W-well that's great. Sarada will be so happy. Kami-sama, I'm so happy too… I… um… I mean that…" she didn't finish her sentence. Sasuke removed his hand from her back and they walked to the school in silence.

By the time they had arrived to the school his daughter and the dobe's kids were already outside talking to the Akimichi kid. Sarada looked so mature next to them, holding her head up high in such authority that Sasuke couldn't help but smirk.

She looked so much like Sakura. When she glanced to see her parents walking towards her, her eyes sparkled and a smile filled her face. The act made Sasuke's heart clench.

"Papa! Mama! What're you doing here?" she asked excitedly, giving Sakura a hug before moving to Sasuke. Sasuke bent down to accustom himself to his daughter's small frame. Wrapping his good arm around her, he felt her wrap her arms around his neck and rest her head on his shoulder.

He didn't care that the other parents were looking. It didn't matter what they thought of him. Which could only be one of two things.

The first could be that he had actually gone soft for his daughter. That the monster of Konoha could actually have kind cells in his body when it comes to his blood.

He'd actually prefer that to the second which was he only did this to keep his heir around. Everybody thought that the Uchiha had only married the cherry blossom to produce and heir and keep his clan from extinction. He only wanted his daughter to think that he cared so that she wouldn't reject his clan.

He knew that that was far from the truth. So he tended not to care. SO when he pulled away he turned around and walked out of the school. He heard Sarada yell a quick goodbye to her friends before her and her mama ran to catch up with her father.

Sarada began to tell stories about how stupid Dobe Jr. was and how she got the highest score on the test they had last week. Sakura idly chatted back with her. Sasuke listened in silence.

He then felt something small take hold of his fisted hand from underneath his cloak. As his first reaction, he pulled away but as he then realized that it was the hand of his daughter.

He looked down to see Sarada looking back, hurt. The Uchiha gazed at her hand bring itself down dejectedly. The Uchiha immediately stopped its descent by taking hold of her tiny hand in his, praying to whatever he believed in to never see that look on her face again.

Sarada squeezed his papa's hand and went to grab her mama's hand as well, who happily took it in her grasp. The two females continued to talk to each other.

One hour later, they were sitting in Ichiraku eating multiple bowls of ramen with the Uzumaki family. Hinata was grooming Dobe and Dobe Jr. who had ramen sauce all over their faces. Himawari was happily talking to Sakura about the new salon that had opened up nearby.

Sasuke and Sarada ate in silence. Sarada picked out the tomatoes in her ramen and put them in Sasuke's bowl and in return, he gave her the red bean ice cream that he had received for desert. Sarada made little conversation with him and resorted to yelling at Dobe Jr.

However, at the end of the night, when Sakura had quickly changed into her hospital scrubs and rushed off to the hospital. Sarada knocked on the door to his office.

.oOo. .oOo. .oOo.

Sarada knew that she wasn't allowed in the office. Mama had told her that that was where Papa had important thoughts and did his important paperwork. It was frequently applied that the room was very important and in result: off limits to her.

"Come in," her papa's voice commanded. She slowly peered into the room to see her Papa looking at her from his place at the mat in the middle of the room. She fully stepped into the room and stood there awkwardly, until her father gestured for her to sit in front of him.

Sarada slowly approached him and was about to sit practically a yard away from Sasuke, but she then changed her mind and shuffled to sit close enough for him to reach out to her.

"What is it?" he asked, his uncovered eye gazing down at her neutrally. Sarada hesitated for a second before speaking…

…or rambling.

"So thanks for dinner today. It was fun and mama said that it made her so happy and I was so happy too. And so today at school Konohamaru-sensei said that Hokage-sama said that we should be thankful for everyone in our lives and I think that you know that I know that and-"

"Sarada," the elder Uchiha sighed. As much as he enjoyed his daughter's voice, she sounded like she was trying to keep from telling him what she actually wanted to, "Please… get to the point."

Sarada paused before speaking again. She looked down to the floor and spoke quietly, "I love you papa."

Followed by silence, "Y-you see. Konohamaru sensei said we should say when we love someone. Tell them every day. Mama told me that you don't really like to say these things but that's okay. I still love you."

"I…" Sasuke didn't know what to say.

"Good night papa," Sarada said kindly before getting up and excusing herself from the room.

Sasuke sat there eyes trained on the door where Sarada was recently standing. He wished the Dobe was there to give him a smack in the head.

Sure, he regretted that he wasn't able to show them his love. But even more so, he was downright ashamed that he couldn't say so as well.

His child was here telling him how much she loved him and he didn't say a word. He just sat there tongue-tied like an idiot.

And he couldn't have regretted that more.


	4. His Regret: Part 2

"Papa there are too many of them!" Sarada yelled as she sent another ninja flying with her monster punch. Her Sharingan eyes met with that of her father's in panic and confusion. Sasuke scrambled towards her to attack another ninja that ran toward his daughter with a knife.

This was supposed to be a simple C-Rank mission to have some father-daughter bonding that Sarada had been requesting for a while. All they had to do was to escort the duchess of the Land of Valleys to the Land of Mountains for a conference.

They hadn't expected the assassins to attack in the middle of the forest. Luckily, Bolt and Mitsuki- who had also joined for the mission- were able to escape with the duchess without the knowledge of the assassins. The trees further helped to conceal their path to lessen tracking.

Unluckily, that left Sasuke and Sarada to deal with the angered criminals that wanted to know the direction in which their subject was heading. Sasuke tried his best to stay as close to his daughter as possible and take on majority of the rogues.

He was just about to finish off another of the assassins when he heard a sound what would forever leave a scar on his apparently-existing heart. As the scream of his daughter hit his hears, he whipped around to see Sarada fall to the ground, a kunai sticking out of her waist. Blood immediately began to flow out of the wound and she wasn't moving.

The man who had stabbed her was standing above her beaten body looking smug and triumphant, "Well I got your kid down, you're next," and with that he kicked Sarada's body roughly.

The sight of her body being tossed aside like that triggered something in Sasuke. With a rage-filled growl, his Rinnegan came to life. He didn't know what happened next but all of a sudden he came to and every criminal around him, was on the ground, dead. The _bastard_ that had stabbed and kicked Sarada's body was hanging dead from the tree with 20 kunai sticking out of his body.

"P-Papa," he heard his daughter whisper weakly. Sasuke didn't care about his chakra depletion and pain at the moment. He immediately got up and summoned Manda with his remaining chakra. He then gathered Sarada in his arms while being mindful of her gaping wound.

"Get to the Leaf Village as fast as you can," he ordered, clutching Sarada tightly to his chest. There was nothing that he could do to stop the blood from pouring out of her wound and it was turning an odd shade of purple. At that moment, he never felt more useless.

"Papa… papa it hurts," she whispered. Sasuke wanted nothing more than to strip her of all her pain. The Uchiha child was actually on the verge of dying on his watch. If only he had used his Rinnegan sooner, he could have kept his daughter from all that pain. He should have been paying attention to her and he could have stopped that attacker.

"Hold on Sarada. J-just hold on."

No matter what he did to keep his emotions in check, even Manda could see the horror and regret flashing in his master's eyes.

.oOo. .oOo. .oOo.

"Sakura, she's losing blood quickly! We need to heal that wound fast!" Ino yelled as she continued to try and steady the amount of blood flowing from the wound.

They had gotten back seconds ago and Sasuke immediately tracked down Sakura and had Sarada admitted into the hospital. Sasuke had laid her down in one of the hospital beds while Sakura got to work pulling off her shirt to reveal the true severity of the wound.

"Sasuke, please go sit down, you need to rest," Sakura demanded before turning her attention back to her daughter. Concentrating her chakra as precisely as she could, she let the green light run over the open wound.

"Crap! We can't close it yet. The kunai was laced with poison! We need to get rid of the poison. Ino, I need that anti poison that Lady Tsunade created. Find it. Hurry," Sasuke could hear the horrible panic in her voice.

Ino rushed out of the room to go find it.

She looked down at Sarada who was miraculously still conscious at the time by sheer will, "Sarada! Sweetie, I need to you stay conscious. Stay conscious for at least two minutes or the anti-poison won't work."

"Mama. I'm tired," she managed to barely reply. Sakura turned to look at Sasuke who still hadn't left the room. Her watery eyes screamed for him to do something. To try and keep Sarada awake.

In a flash, he was by her side, lacing his hand through her limp one, "Sarada. You have to stay awake," he demanded with a slight shake in his calm voice. Sasuke was known to be so emotionless that even his voice didn't give away his feelings, but here he was, sounding as though he had been to Hell and back.

Sarada's hooded eyes looked up to the older Uchiha's in a daze. Her pupil was dilated and if Sasuke looked down, he could see that the wound has turned a fiery red, threatening to be fatal at the drop of a hat.

"Please I can't-"

"No! Sarada, you will _not_ go to sleep. You need to stay awake because if you don't then… then…." He lowered his to her ear and quietly continued, "I can't tell you how much I love you every day."

He looked up to see Sarada not moving at all, however, her eyes remained open by her sheer will power. He saw a single tear fall from her eye and Sasuke didn't hesitate to wipe it away with his spare hand. Sakura placed a hand on the man's shoulder only to have it covered by the hand that wasn't already holding Sarada's.

"I found it Sakura," Ino barged back into the room. Without wasting a minute, Sakura applied a large some of the green oil onto the wound. In a matter of seconds, to Sasuke's immediate relief, the wound immediately lost the swelling. The fiery red that once was, was now a darker red that had stopped bleeding thanks to the antidote.

He felt Sarada's hand tighten by the tiniest bit around his own and looked up to see her eyes closing little by little. Sasuke could feel her chakra levels rising and he let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"Alright, Sarada-chan. You can sleep now. The poison is gone. Kami-sama, it's gone," Sakura sighed. She began to heal the wound. The bleeding had stopped with the poison deterioration.

Sarada gave her Mama a smile before letting her eyes close. Sakura bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. Ino smiled and excused herself from the room.

"I'm sorry Sakura," Sasuke suddenly blurted. Sakura looked at him kindly.

"Don't say that, Sasuke-kun. It wasn't your fault that the ninja's attacked. There's nothing to forgive."

Sasuke scowled, "Don't say that! I could have saved her."

"But you did save her. Sasuke-kun, Sarada knows you're not to blame. She's here and she's alive. Let's just leave it at that," she claimed while giving him a similar kiss on the forehead. Before she could turn away, Sasuke stood up and gathered Sakura close to her before placing a lingering kiss on her lips.

"Thank-you."

Sakura gave him a small smile, "Don't thank me for saving my daughter dummy. Come on let's leave her to sleep for a while," and with that they walked out of the room.

.oOo. .oOo. .oOo.

 _ **1 week later**_

"Did you find Bolt and Mitsuki?"

Naruto slurped his ramen noisily while nodding at his quiet friend, "Yeah I found them in the morning causing trouble in the Land of Mountains. The duchess was fine. Bolt was horrified when I told him what had happened. He was so scared for Sarada-chan, it was actually cute! They're so going to get marri-"

"Finish that sentence and I will chidori the shit out of you," Sasuke warned. Naruto just wagged his eyebrows and went on to eat Sasuke's bowl of ramen. Not that he cared. He placed down the money for his stolen bowl before heading towards the hospital.

He had spent almost every spare minute in the hospital with Sarada. Sakura visited as much as she could but it wasn't easy with all the patients in the hospital so it was often just the two of them.

They spent majority of their time talking. Well, Sarada talked while Sasuke listened. Sasuke also took her on a walk around the hospital gardens so that she didn't feel all claustrophobic in the tiny hospital room. She limped along beside him but due to her weakness she couldn't walk around for too long. When she got tired, Sasuke didn't need to be asked twice and picked her up as they headed back to her room.

He also brought her sweets at night. Whenever Sakura finished giving her dinner, Sasuke would show up with her favourite red bean ice cream and let her eat it while he ate his tomatoes. He hated going to that stupid sweets shop but her smile when he walked in with her favourite dessert was reward enough. So they would sit and talk and eat.

Sarada never brought up what Sasuke had said to her when she was near her death. Part of him wondered if she thought it was a trick of her mind that was trying to keep her awake. The other part wanted to just bring it up and ask. He would look at the bandages leaving an impression under her tight ninja clothes and he would want to beg for her forgiveness. When he did try apologizing, Sarada wouldn't have it. She never let him finish his sentence.

When he got to the hospital, he found Sarada walking around the gardens with the Akimichi kid, Dobe Jr. and Mitsuki. They walked at her slow pace and laughed as they informed her of how lucky she was to be skipping school for that week since Shino had been piling them up with exams and projects.

However attentive she was in the conversation, when she saw her Papa coming towards her, her smile brightened and she limped towards him. She paused right in front of him and bowed respectfully being mindful of all the elders in their presence.

"Hey Papa," she smiled. Sasuke took hold of her hand in his and they walked back to the small group who also bowed to the Uchiha male. Everyone but Dobe who was busy trying to get Sarada to sit down on a bench.

"I thought I said that you couldn't come out here unless Sakura or I was with you," he said glaring at Dobe Jr.'s hand on Sarada's back trying to prod her to sit. Bolt noticed and immediately removed his hand and smiled sheepishly but Mitsuki was the one to speak up.

"Uchiha-sama, your wife had said that Sarada-chan was in perfectly good condition to accompany us out here," he stated politely. Sasuke didn't release his glare nonetheless until Sarada told him to cut it out with a giggle.

After walking around for a couple more minutes, he realized the sun was setting and ordered all the children home. Sarada yawned and Sasuke deemed it time for her to go back to her room. Sasuke sat her down in her bed before sitting down in the chair beside her.

"Papa how much longer do I have to be here? I miss school and my friends and missions-"

"No missions for a while, Sarada," Sasuke interrupted. Sarada pouted and looked down at the ground upset, "You can go back to school in 3 days perhaps."

"Sarada," the Uchiha began hesitantly. The girl looked up at her dad waiting for him to continue, "I want you to know that I had many regrets in my life. But my worst regret was never telling you or showing you how thankful I am for you."

Sarada looked like she was about to say something but she closed her mouth so Sasuke continued, "I'm sorry that I missed all those birthdays and that I didn't spoil you with everything you had wanted day in and day out. I hate how you look at other parents being so loving while I didn't feel an ounce of regret leaving Sakura so many times in the past," Sarada winced at that but Sasuke continued. He had to say what he needed to say.

"Sarada… I love you," he said. Sarada's eyes widened and she looked straight into the eyes of her usually stoic father, "I love you so, so much. You and Sakura. And I will never hesitate to tell you that again."

"Will you also show us? Show us how much you love us?"

Sasuke nodded slowly.

"So can I have a hug? And can you stay here for the night?" she asked shyly.

The Uchiha patriarch didn't waste a second to lift Sarada from the hospital bed and sit her down in his lap. Being mindful of the thick bandages on her side, he wrapped his arms around her in a determination to never let her go.

"I love you too Papa."

For the rest of the night, Sasuke didn't put Sarada down. Despite the uncomfortableness of the chair, he held onto the child without having any intention of letting go.


End file.
